A Sunday visit with “Mirthful” Marie Severin

My wife attended the New Jersey Romance Writers convention this weekend, and as I’ve done many previous years, I tagged along … but then split immediately, making a beeline for Manhattan on Friday and Saturday for good food and good friends. (About which more later.) The highlight of the trip wasn’t any of that, though—it was what occurred Sunday, when we trekked out to Long Island and spent the afternoon with the person we love most from our time in comics (other than each other)—Marie Severin.

If you know anything about comics, you already know and love the public side of Marie. But Irene and I, from working with her in the Marvel Bullpen, got to know Marie in a more personal way. She’s warm, friendly, and one of the funniest people we’ve ever met.

And at age 84, she’s still the same Marie we’ve always known … except for more snow on the roof. Which could also be said for me, and Marie actually did comment on how much whiter my hair has gotten. And she’s someone who should know. After all, she’s known me professionally for nearly forty years! I’d encountered her even earlier, having gotten sketches when I was but a comics fan, but those are encounters only I remember.

But she’s still happy, still sharp, still as quick with a quip as ever.

One of the things Irene did during our lunch at a nice Italian restaurant was to read Marie all of the kind things you emailed to us when it was her birthday a couple of months ago. Marie was, as always, amazed that you cared, that anyone remembered the work she did when others were much more prolific. We made sure she knew that yes, you did care.

We spent five hours with her, catching her up on how everyone she ever knew in the comics field was doing. I cracked open my iPad to show her how digital comics apps worked, and she got the hang of it immediately, swiping and double-tapping through comics pages like a kid. I pulled up a YouTube clip of Stan Lee so she could see what our former boss was like these days, but it turned out she’d already seen it as part of the recent PBS documentary on superheroes.

Turns out Marie was even more with it than we’d thought!

And, as anyone who ever met Marie could tell you—we laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Why do you think her Marvel Comics nickname was “Mirthful”?

And another question—how did we get so lucky as to have her be a part of our lives?

15 Comments for A Sunday visit with “Mirthful” Marie Severin

LenSessions

Amazed that we remember her work? Marvel in those days was like early-Hollywood – everyone was a star! Anyone who doesn’t know her work isn’t a real fan. Her contributions to the Hulk (& Not Brand Echh!) were true classics.

What a legend, it’s wonderful to see Ms. Severin looking so well! Anyone who claims to be “into” comics and DOESN’T know of her huge, multi-faceted contributions to the form deserves to have their membership revoked immediately!

Tim Tyler

Robert W. Cox

Scott,

Please tell Marie that she was well liked and followed by a younger generation learning the “ropes” by studying her and her brother’s works closely. Tell her too, next time, we are glad to know she is still alive and recovering. If you can help her get on facebook, tell her we would so post her work and give her the praise she deserves. I learned a great deal from studying her color work, a great deal about the art of making art with a pencil, pen and xacto knife. Thanx to Scott Shaw for posting this link on Facebook

Steve Chung

Hi, Scott! I was honored to meet Ms. Severin at San Diego Comic-Con in 2000 or so. I told her how much I loved her art on Doctor Strange and my favorite of her work would have to be the Gizzard, a humorous version of the Lizard from Not Brand Ecch’s “With This Ring, I Thee Web!”

I remember, love her work, and just wanted to say, “Thanks!” 🙂

Lou Mougin

Miss Marie! I interviewed her at the Dallas Fantasy Fair some years back and had so much fun it wasn’t even funny. We sat down after it was done and yakked for a long time. Give her a shout out from me, and tell her I wish she was on the Internet!

Roger Klorese

Wonderful! You I see about every year nowadays, but… Marie and Irene, not so much, and they both look wonderful.

You three look impossibly young and wonderful. I hope that you at least have the decency to have horribly aging portraits of yourselves in the attic.

I send my crazy mad love to my friends and co-workers from my youth.

Dave Hunt

Hi Irene and Scott-
Thanks a million for posting this! I’m so glad to hear that our ol’ pal, Marie, is doing well. I’ve lost touch with her since she left Brooklyn. You guys look great too. Please send her my best wishes and a big hug next time you talk with her.

Clyde Hall

Please tell Marie how much pleasure and joy it gave this comic fan, even when he was very young, to find her name on the art credits of books like The Hulk & Not Brand Echh. Her versatility in doing both humorous renderings and detailed, heroic renderings amazed me then, and still amaze me to this day. When my comic-reading peers sit around speaking of legendary artists and the work they have produced, Marie is one that I always put forth, with her brother John, as vastly talented favorites from my earliest recollection of the comic book art form. Thank you, Marie, for all the laughs and all the thrills.

Great to hear Marie is doing well. Last we heard, she was ill and for a long time after that no one reported anything. Bad news always travels faster. She is one of the greats.

nick caputo

Marie is one of a kind. Her versatility in the field is noteworthy, whether drawing or coloring, and her sense of humor is exceptional. I grew up on her Not Brand Echh work and had the pleasure of seeing her at the first Marvel Con. Marie has been generous with her time and that is always appreciated. Some time ago I wrote about her wonderful work with the equally brilliant Bill Everett: